Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

J.K. Rowling (Jim Dale, J. K. Rowling)

Because it is precisely through the imagination that the evil one first attacks us in order to lead...more

Because it is precisely through the imagination that the evil one first attacks us in order to lead the soul captive, Orthodox Christians are to avoid as much as possible not only the Potter series but all fantasy literature. Regarding so-called “good witchcraft,” be it known that any practice which seeks to manipulate future events according to the wish or whim of the practitioner -- whether his or her intentions are “good” or bad -- is always evil, since it does not account for and even contradicts the Divine Will. Harry Potter, therefore, is not appropriate for anyone to read. The books are intended as an initiation into the world of witchcraft. For anyone who doubts or denies this, let him visit a Barnes and Nobles or Borders bookstore and observe which books accompany Harry Potter on display: the series is surrounded by books about witchcraft aimed especially at teenage girls, and it is rarely, if ever, prominently displayed among other children’s books. Those in favor of reading the Harry Potter series have criticized those against the series as being led astray by Protestant arguments. Orthodox Christians do not base their decisions on what Protestants have and have not said. Regardless of its source, an argument is either valid or invalid, either true or false. If a Protestant has spoken the truth regarding Harry Potter, we must commend him. Those in favor of Harry Potter also insist that the books are good because they inspire children and adolescents to read. Pornographic material also inspires adolescents to read, but is it appropriate reading material? The last resort for the pro-Potters is to declare that the Three Holy Hierarchs insist that we should learn anything secular. This idea comes from a selective reading of these holy fathers. With a closer look at the text, any school boy could see that Sts. Basil, Gregory, and John all favor a selective reading of secular literature, especially those works dedicated to virtue, logic, and rhetoric. St. Basil even gives a list of books to avoid. The “everything-secular-is-okay” argument, therefore, is based on false premises. Of course, we cannot cover all objections in a short article. For this reason, St. Poimen’s Brotherhood is offering free of charge a booklet about the Harry Potter books. It covers a wide range of valid arguments, both Protestant and Orthodox. We encourage you to send us an e-mail or write to us for a free copy. If we do not already have it, please include your mailing address. In conclusion, one very simple point in the debate is often sadly overlooked: on the great and terrible Day of Judgment, what will we say to our All-Merciful God when he asks us why we did not even read His commandments or pay any attention to the lives or writings of the divine men and women He sent to instruct us? “We left them, Lord, in favor of Harry Potter.”    hide

J.K. Rowling (July 1998): "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (alias HP 2) Excellent and...more

J.K. Rowling (July 1998): "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (alias HP 2) Excellent and almost beyond criticism. I very much admire these books, and hope my grandchildren will read them all. I'm admittedly posting these reviews after having read all seven of the books, and the exercise of re-creating my thoughts about it all would develop and end, after having read HP 2, is not sufficiently fruitful to record here. But yes, I did struggle through the Russian edition, and once upon a time I shall endeavour to re-read the story, but then in English.   hide

Harry knows he is a wizard, and after a lonely horrible summer with his aunt and uncle, he is...more

Harry knows he is a wizard, and after a lonely horrible summer with his aunt and uncle, he is looking forward to going back to school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But Harry is no ordinary wizard, and there are those who want him to return to school and those who do not. Harry has a run in with a house elf named Doby, who keeps causing havoc for Harry in his attempts to save his life. He has a run in with a tree that hits back. And the new defense against the dark arts teacher is so full of himself he's over flowing. And then of course there is a monster that has been set loose in the school, and everyone blames Harry. Seems to be a typical year for Harry though. Ron and Hermoine team up with Harry to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, a mystery that most people believed to be a myth. Together they save Ginny, and defeat Voldemort yet again.   hide

Ok, so I must admit, this isn’t my favorite Harry Potter book in the world. In fact, this is...more

Ok, so I must admit, this isn’t my favorite Harry Potter book in the world. In fact, this is my least favorite Harry Potter book. I mean, if you have a phobia, it’s in this book. From snakes that kill you when you look at them to gigantic blood-thirsty spiders. This isn’t exactly a light topic we’re dealing with, haha. I thought that this book was just a little “meh” in comparison to the rest of the books. It’s not that it’s a bad book, it just isn’t as good. Although, now, after knowing how the series ends, I think the part when Harry rescues Ginny gets about fifty bajillion times more adorable, haha.   hide

Better than the first book, but still poorly written. The story of this one progressed much better,...more

Better than the first book, but still poorly written. The story of this one progressed much better, but the deus machina ex at the end with the sword and the hat was a terrible let down. If a bit more back story about the hat's powers had been slipped in before, it would have worked a lot better, and not been difficult to do. After all Harry does wear it a second time and converses with it. Anyway, as usual Rowling shows a lot of promise for story, but the actual execution of the writing is terrible. Very oriented to a younger audience, passive voice used throughout, and she's a modern, and less skilled, incarnation of Tom Swift when it comes to dialogue attribution.   hide